Mark Steven Koski

Mark Steven Koski was born March 19, 1953, in Grants Pass, Oregon, to Walfred Conrad Koski and Elsa LaVerne Koski.

He married his childhood sweetheart, Victoria Lynn Hallock, beginning a marriage that would span 44 years until her passing in 2023.

In the early 1980s, Mark and Victoria moved to Butte, Montana, where he worked for the Bureau of Land Management as a cartographer, creating exquisite maps by hand. He loved the great Montana outdoors and spent his free time hiking, backpacking, and fly fishing. It was there that Mark and Victoria welcomed their daughter, Sarah Anne Koski, in September 1983.

In 1987, the family returned to Oregon, settling in Salem when Mark accepted a position with the Bureau of Land Management's Oregon State Office. He continued his career as a mapmaker and Geographic Information Systems trainer. His work earned recognition beyond Oregon, including international acclaim for his cartographic representations of the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area and its historic lighthouse on the Oregon coast.

For Mark, maps were more than lines and symbols on paper. His profession reflected a lifelong appreciation for geography, landscape, and the natural world. Away from work, he enjoyed photography, exploring the tidepools of the Oregon coast, visiting the Hatfield Marine Science Center, and cheering for his alma mater, the Oregon State Beavers.

Above all, Mark was a dedicated husband and father. No matter the demands of work or life, he never missed a parent-teacher conference or a sporting event for his daughter. Some of the family's happiest memories were made simply exploring Oregon together—the coast, its natural places, and the landscapes Mark spent much of his professional life documenting.

Mark leaves behind his daughter, Sarah Anne Koski, and his younger sister, Maureen Kay Przybylski. In the final years of his life, Mark drew deeply from his faith and prayer, finding joy in the things that mattered most to him: spending time with his daughter, sharing meals with those he loved, and cheering for his favorite sports teams.

His faith in Jesus Christ and love of life remained steadfast until his return home to Heaven on September 14, 2026.